Her 10th studio album released 30th September 2013
One Little Indian LP/ CD/ DL
Cat. No. tplp1189/ tplp1189/ tplp1189dl
Track-list: 1. Underground/ 2. Gave It Away/ 3. Heart Shaped Stone/ 4.
Count/ 5. Out Of Time/ 6. Monday Morning/ 7. Darkness Light/ 8. Picture Book/
9. Morning Twilight 10. Arwen/ 11. Tequila/ 12. Sequins/ 13. The Known
“This record is all about how time matters. It’s the most precious
thing we have.” Kathryn Williams
Keen Elvis aficionados
may spot Crown Electric as the name of the power company that employed
the young Presley as a delivery truck driver before he got the call to record
his first session at Sun Studios. Sixty years on, it’s also the title of the
tenth album from Liverpool-born, Newcastle-based singer-songwriter Kathryn
Williams - and her first solo record in almost four years.
It’s a suitably emphatic
title for Williams’ most potent album yet, confirmation and summation of the
songwriting skills she’s been honing since 1999’s Dog Leap Stairs. “As
soon as I said it, the words in my mouth felt lovely,” says Kathryn. “It felt
exciting and fresh but it also had the sound of a classic album. It has
strength to it. It’s steadfast.” From the first song to the last, her lyrics
have never been more astute, her melodies more memorable nor her arrangements
more beautiful.
Kathryn plays an
intimate show at St. Pancras Old Church on Thursday 1st August before embarking on her biggest UK tour to date during
September & October (see below).
“I feel strangely giddy
about this record,” she says. “I feel like I’ve hit a point in my writing where
I don’t feel apologetic.” She mentions the opening line from Tequila:
“Be brave enough to be yourself.” That’s what I’m trying to do with this
record,” she says. “To feel all the doubts and do it anyway. It’s about coming
to terms with where you are and what matters and being happy with your lot.”
One of Britain’s finest
songwriters, Kathryn’s music has always challenged the distinctions between
folk and pop. Currently enjoying the most prolific phase of her career, Crown
Electric’s songs were narrowed down from a pool of 60 with the help of
producer and long-time musical foil, Neill MacColl (who also worked with
Kathryn on Two (2008) and 2010’s The Quickening). Crown
Electric also boasts some stunning collaborations with Ed Harcourt (Darkness
Light, Morning Twilight, Sequins) and James Yorkston (Arwen).
What unites these songs is confidence, precision, grace and an eye for the
small details that illuminate large ideas. “It’s about having a complex idea
and then working out how to explain that simply,” she says.
Crown Electric was recorded live in three days at Bryn Derwen
Studios in Snowdonia with Neill MacColl as guitarist, bandleader and producer,
Lamb’s Jon Thorne on double bass and Cinematic Orchestra’s Luke Flowers on
drums. It was mixed by David Wrench with sumptuous strings added later at Ray
Davies legendary Konk Studios in North London, arranged and recorded by cellist
Ben Trigg (Dexys, UNKLE, Arctic Monkeys).
In support of Crown
Electric Kathryn will embark on her biggest UK tour for many years during
September and October, as below – click on links for show details.
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